1. Technical Field
One or more embodiments of the present application relate to a system and method for indicating an instantaneous fuel economy (IFE) of a vehicle to an operator.
2. Background Art
Vehicles, whether passenger or commercial, include a number of gauges, indicators, and various other displays to provide the vehicle operator with information regarding the vehicle and its surroundings. With the advent of new technologies, such as hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs), has come a variety of new gauges and information displays that help operators to better learn the operation of these vehicles that utilize new technology. For example, many HEVs incorporate gauges that attempt to provide the operator with information on the various hybrid driving states. These gauges indicate to the operator when the vehicle is being propelled by the engine alone, the motor alone, or a combination of the two. Similarly, a display may indicate when the motor is operating as a generator, and is recharging an energy storage device, such as a battery.
With regard to HEVs, it is known that some operators may not be able to achieve desired overall fuel economy, in part because of driving habits. In many cases, operators are willing to modify their behavior, but are unable to translate recommended techniques into real changes in their driving habits. Moreover, conventional gauges or displays may be misleading as to how information pertaining to an instantaneous fuel economy of the vehicle may correlate into a future overall fuel economy. As such, the operator may not be able to adapt current driving habits so as to increase a future overall fuel economy.